Such Pleasure

Novel by Australian writer Martin Boyd
Such Pleasure
First edition
AuthorMartin Boyd
Cover artistLeslie Wood
LanguageEnglish
PublisherCresset Press, London
Publication date
1949
Media typePrint hardback & paperback
Pages367 pp
Preceded byLucinda Brayford 
Followed byThe Cardboard Crown 

Such Pleasure (1949) is a novel by the Australian writer Martin Boyd.[1]

Plot summary

The novel follows the life of Bridget Malwyn, the illegitimate daughter of an Irish peer and an English governess. Malwyn transforms over the course of the novel from being young and romantic through to an old disillusioned, objectionable old woman who lives in the past.

Reviews

Gladys Hain in The Argus admired the choices made by the author. "Had Martin Boyd been so minded, he might have made of this story a bitter satire, attacking capitalistic society as one which gives to money the power to mould character irretrievably. He has chosen rather to make of his book a wandering, almost meandering sketch of a woman who never recovered from the taste of splendour she got when she lived with her devoted and slightly idiotic parent, an Irish peer, in his castle on the shores of a beautiful lake...Also, had Mr Boyd chosen to dig a little deeper and lay bare the emotions behind the clash between Bridget and her children, he would have written a very powerful novel. Instead, he has chosen, and perhaps wisely, to make his book a comedy of manners, and, as such, it is a highly enjoyable story."[2]

See also

  • 1949 in Australian literature

References

  1. ^ Austlit - Such Pleasure by Martin Boyd
  2. ^ Gladys Hainn, "Australian writes a comedy of manners", The Argus, 5 November 1949, p16


  • v
  • t
  • e
Works by Martin Boyd
Novels
  • Love Gods (1925)
  • Bangrane (1926)
  • The Madeleine Heritage (1928)
  • Dearest Idol (1929)
  • Scandal of Spring (1934)
  • The Lemon Farm (1935)
  • The Picnic (1937)
  • Night of the Party (1938)
  • Nuns in Jeopardy (1940)
  • Lucinda Brayford (1946)
  • Such Pleasure (1949)
  • The Cardboard Crown (1952)
  • A Difficult Young Man (1955)
  • Outbreak of Love (1957)
  • When Blackbirds Sing (1962)
Novels for children
  • The Painted Princess (1936)
Poetry collections
  • Retrospect : Poems (1920)
Non-fiction
  • A Single Flame (1939)
  • Day of My Delight (1965)
  • Why They Walk Out (1970)